Support the Wetteren 11. Put GMOs on trial, not the field liberators.
Come to DENDERMONDE (BE), 15th of January 2013, 8 a.m.

On 29 May 2011, hundreds of activists decontaminated a GM potato field trial in Wetteren . They pulled up genetically modified potatoes and replaced them with organic varieties, which are naturally blight resistant, tasty and healthy.

The ‘Great Potato Swap’ was public and nonviolent. The aim of the action was to stimulate debate about the pros and cons of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in our fields and on our plates. It succeeded: the public debate took off in the papers, online, and on the radio and television. Schools and universities took part as did NGOs and the political and farming sectors. This act of civil disobedience made people aware of the dangers of GMO’s and the role that public research plays in their development. We need to find real sustainable and fair solutions to respond to future food challenges.

11 activists have been accused of belonging to a criminal gang, and risk being asked to pay €200,000 damages. Why so much? Because the Flemish Institute for biotechnology, University of Ghent, Ghent HogeSchool and the Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research wants them to pay not only for six months of private security for the site, but also for the pro GMO rally, the time the biotech industry spent dealing with the press, and the many hours that the lecturers spent spreading pro-GMO propaganda by e-mail and Facebook.

Campaigning for a more sustainable agriculture is not a crime and this prosecution for criminal gang is undemocratic.
More than ninety people have volunteered to join the accused in the docks to reinforce this message. Among them are farmers, politicians, academic scholars, civil society representatives, concerned citizens and French voluntary reapers. This is a strong message that the 11 accused belong to a broad social movement.

Come and add your voice to the chorus of support, join us in Dendermonde on the day of the trial, have breakfast, exchange information, fry organic chips and enjoy some live music.

We are meeting at 8am in front of the lawcourts, Justitieplein 1, Dendermonde.

You can also:

– Make your community GM free and organise a benefit evening, or a debate
– Record a video support message and send it to field.liberation@gmail.com
– Support us financially by making a donation by bank transfer to the account name : Crop Resistance (Triodos BIC: TRIOBEBB), number: BE59 5230 8045 6626
– Buy lots of our Faucheurs (crop pullers) beer from our depots in Brussels, Ghent, Leuven, Liège and Antwerp. For contact information look here

For information about the action go to: fieldliberation.wordpress.com
Contact: field.liberation@gmail.com

The money will be used to pay possible fines of the 11 prosecuted in the first place. It could also be used for the struggle against the agro-industrial business model and/or the support of the development of agro-ecological initiatives